nashuaworldcup Chapter 111: Marrying a Wife Before the Age of Adulthood
Chapter 111: Marrying a Wife Before the Age of Adulthood
Zhou Jinye was stunned, and quickly began to secretly speculate what his father meant by this sentence.
What do you think?
In fact, he has always had his own ideas about this matter. Jiang Zhenyao is his cousin that his mother has chosen.
But as a grown man, Zhou Jinye has never been interested in the personality of his cousin Jiang Zhenyao, even though Jiang Zhenyao herself is good-looking and a little heroic, but also has a unique and distinctive appearance.
However, whether or not one could fall in love with another was not really a question of appearance. At least Zhou Jinye could not develop any affection for his cousin, even though she had the support of her uncle and grandfather.
It was also difficult for him to have any thoughts about his cousin.
The person that my mother and father mentioned must be Jiang Zhenyao, but he... likes Rong Yunlan.
In his opinion, the Rong family was no weaker than the Jiang family, the only difference was that one was a civil official and the other was a military general. Moreover, Rong Yunlan was one of the most beautiful women among the women from aristocratic families in the capital.
Born into a scholarly family like the Rong family, Rong Yunlan is not only stunningly beautiful, but also extremely talented. Her guzheng playing made him fall in love with her at first sight.
He knew what his mother meant. His uncle and grandfather were both neutral. If he could marry Jiang Zhenyao, whom they cared about, as his principal wife, the Jiang family would no longer be able to stay out of it.
As for the Rong family, they have always been neutral. Prime Minister Rong is a straight-laced man and a staunch royalist. It is impossible for him to support him just because his daughter married him.
Therefore, in my mother's view, giving the position of the queen to Rong Yunlan but not getting the loyalty of the Rong family in return was an unprofitable deal.
But the possibility of him and Rong Yunlan is even smaller. The power of the Rong family in the court cannot be underestimated. Prime Minister Rong is the prime minister, so it is naturally impossible for his daughter to become a concubine of a prince whose situation is unclear!
The question is, when the emperor asked him what he thought, what kind of answer did he want to hear?
If he really went back to Jiang Zhenyao, given his father's suspicion, would he really let him get his wish?
His Majesty, who was sitting upright on the steps, noticed Zhou Jinye's silence. He continued calmly, "Why? This question is difficult to answer. Is it because you don't have a favorite candidate?"
Zhou Jinye was shocked when his father stared at him like that. He realized that he had deserted in front of his father. He quickly replied respectfully, "Father, I will follow your arrangements on this matter."
A proper answer will neither reveal your true thoughts nor be intimidating.
If the emperor really wanted to grant a marriage between him and Jiang Zhenyao, this sentence would most likely be just a formality, and the next step would be to directly issue an imperial decree to grant the marriage.
Upon hearing this, His Majesty paused in his action of picking up the pen to write, and looked at Zhou Jinye with an ambiguous look, as if silently examining whether he really thought as he said.
The personal eunuch next to him was grinding ink for the emperor. When he heard Zhou Jinye's answer, he quickly lowered his head in silence. There were some words that eunuchs like them were not allowed to hear.
Especially for the several princes who are currently competing for the throne, every word they say may affect the future direction of the court!
"In the blink of an eye, you are about to reach adulthood. Last time your mother mentioned your marriage to me, I have been thinking about the choice of person. I wanted to ask you if you have someone you like, so that I don't have to choose someone for you."
His Majesty lowered his voice so much that people who didn't know would really think that he really wanted to ask Zhou Jinye whose daughter he wanted to marry?
But Zhou Jinye is a prince after all, and an adult prince who has been immersed in royal conspiracies and intrigues for many years. After more than a decade of calculations, he has long realized that there is no father and son in the royal family, only endless suspicion and calculations.
No matter how amiable my father appears to be now, he is essentially still the one who sits on the dragon throne, the most suspicious person holding great power.
Such a person must never be taken seriously and tell the truth just because he relaxes for a moment.
Zhou Jinye lowered his eyes, and his long eyelashes silently covered his eyes. No one could know the emotions hidden in his dark eyes.
"In reply to your Majesty, I don't have anyone I like. As the old saying goes, it's the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. In this matter, I will follow your Majesty's arrangements."
The slow and steady pace of his speech, coupled with the subtle flattery, made His Majesty, who was still hesitating, change his decision immediately.
He rarely smiled, but he didn't know how sincere this smile was. Facing Zhou Jinye who was standing not far away, he said softly, "I understand. You can go down first. I will consider the candidate for this matter and will definitely find a good candidate for you."
When Zhou Jinye heard this, he bowed respectfully and left the Qianqing Palace.
His Majesty waited until Zhou Jinye was far away and finished reviewing the memorial in his hand before putting down his pen and sighing, "Wang Quan, do you think my son is telling the truth?"
As the most popular person around His Majesty and also the eunuch in charge of the internal affairs, how could Wang Quan not understand that the kindness and friendliness His Majesty had just shown to the Seventh Prince was all superficial.
The more flawless and loophole-free the Seventh Prince's answers were, the more suspicious His Majesty would become. This suspicion made His Majesty, who had originally planned to marry Jiang Zhenyao to Zhou Jinye... hesitate.
This hesitation is likely to make His Majesty give up the idea of granting the marriage again.
The very fact that His Majesty arranged a marriage between Jiang Zhenyao and Zhou Jinye was the last thing he wanted to see. The birth of the Seventh Prince's mother was already glorious enough. If the Seventh Prince were to marry his cousin, the Duke of Wei's family would truly be tied to the Seventh Prince.
If it weren't for the stimulation of Chu Qibai and Jiang Zhenyao's uncle submitting memorials together, His Majesty would never have thought of putting the two of them together.
He didn't want to see any of his sons become too powerful. The best situation was that they were all evenly matched, so that they could check and balance each other and no one could dominate alone!
Once Jiang Zhenyao is really married to Zhou Jinye, Zhou Jinye's importance will immediately become heavier than others. I am afraid that many people will see this situation and stand on the side of the Seventh Prince early on. By then, it will not be a situation that Your Majesty wants to maintain.
"Your Majesty, I don't know." Wang Quan has been in this palace for many years, and the thing he is best at is playing dumb.
There are some things that even if he understands, he cannot say them out loud.
As soon as Zhou Jinye left, His Majesty no longer cared about the previous batch of memorials. The strength displayed by Chu Qibai did surprise him, but he couldn't feel at ease whenever he thought that the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery Mansion was behind him.
"Perhaps I should arrange a marriage for Prince Chu. How old is he this year?" His Majesty asked the people around him uncertainly.
Wang Quan groaned, then smiled flatteringly, "Your Majesty, this servant doesn't know that Prince Chu is the third prince's study companion, but I heard that Prince Chu is two or three years younger than the third prince, so he should not have come of age yet."
"You can marry before you reach adulthood. There are many men in this dynasty who marry at the age of fifteen or sixteen." His Majesty suddenly remembered something, "I remember that Xiaojiu likes Chu Qibai, right?"
Wang Quan smiled awkwardly and didn't dare to answer.